“And then your mother—” He grips the table, his knuckles going white. “She stepped forward. It was like she understood something I didn’t. She told them she would be the sacrifice—” A cold chill spreads through me. I feel like I’m going to be sick. “Dad, no… How could you do that?” “I didn’t do anything!” he cries, shaking his head furiously. “I wouldn’t do it, James! I wouldn’t take her life!” His breath shudders, his shoulders sagging like the weight of that moment is still crushing him. “But the knife—the Veil—didn’t care. I tried everything I could to stop it. But it was too late. They
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